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With Miami’s high-profile event season approaching—including preparations for Miami Art Week and the ongoing production of major projects like the Amex Tunnel at Hard Rock Stadium—the logistics and creative planning at 2R Creative are in full swing. We sit down with Raul Rodriguez to get an inside look at the secrets behind producing flawless luxury brand activations. We explore how his agency maintains a creative edge with its extensive in-house design and fabrication capabilities, why brands continue to gravitate toward Miami for their biggest launches, and what it truly takes to dream up the next viral pop-up installation. With 25 years in the business, you’ve been on the ground floor as experiential marketing evolved. How have you seen the industry, particularly in the Miami market, shift over the last two decades, and what are the biggest changes in client expectations? Raul Rodriguez: There have been two pivotal moments that have shaped the modern experiential marketing and events industry, both overall and specifically in Miami. The first was the birth of social media. Once brands recognized the power of this new tool, it completely changed the game. Events were no longer designed just for the few hundred people attending in person — they’re now created for the millions of viewers who experience them online. In the past, we could control the press coverage and which images were released from an event. Now, everyone is press, and everyone has a camera. Every detail of an event needs to be a “photo moment” and translated on camera. Success is no longer measured solely by attendance numbers but by volume of posts, shares and engagement the event generates across platforms. The second major turning point for Miami’s experiential landscape was the rise of Art Basel. The influx of artists, brands and companies that came to activate during this time brought new expectations for execution and design at levels Miami hadn’t seen before. Before Art Basel, agencies from New York and Los Angeles were often brought in because local teams didn’t yet have the capabilities to deliver at that standard. Now, we are proud to be known as the “go-to” for this level of work and execution. Art Basel and Miami Art Week are hyper-competitive periods for experiential installations. What is the ‘secret sauce’ for successfully producing a high-impact event during such a high-stakes cultural moment? Raul Rodriguez: Aside from consistency and delivering high-quality products, I would say the secret is in the relationships you build. We’re lucky enough to have long-standing clients who’ve trusted us for many years. That kind of trust gives us the freedom to experiment, push creative boundaries and try new things – which is essential during moments like Art Basel, when standing out requires bold ideas and precise execution. When clients are constantly switching vendors or focused only on finding the lowest cost, it limits how far you can go creatively. You tend to play it safe, sticking to what’s secure rather than what’s possible. But when there’s mutual trust and partnership, you can take calculated risks – and that’s when the high-impact experiences happen. 2R Creative works with top luxury clients like Hermes and Cartier. What unique challenges come with translating a high-end brand’s exclusive, ephemeral vision and ethos into a temporary, physical installation?